Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw in NL final three for Cy Young

A greater number of awards translates into greater competition for attention for your awards, so baseball has taken to announcing three “finalists” for each of its eight traditional major postseason awards.

This implies that the voting has been narrowed to the three finalists for each award, which is completely untrue. All voting took place prior to the start of the postseason.

So the announcement of the finalists Tuesday by the Baseball Writers Assn. of America was really more to reveal the top three vote-getters for each award. The voting has been completed and the votes counted. Somebody, somewhere, already knows who won. Announcing the top three merely creates artificial suspense for a competition that is already over.

And the top three for the National League Cy Young Award came in as expected –- the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta joining Dodgers Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw. The winner is scheduled to be announced Nov. 18.

Kershaw has won three of the last four NL Cy Young awards, but is expected to come in third this time, with Arrieta and Greinke in a tight battle for the award. Kershaw is the first pitcher in baseball history to finish in the top three for five consecutive years.

Greinke has opted out of his contract with the Dodgers and is expected to turn down their $15.8-million qualifying offer and become a free agent.

Other NL finalists announced Tuesday and listed alphabetically: MVP – Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona), Bryce Harper (Washington), Joey Votto (Cincinnati); Manager of the year – Terry Collins (New York), Joe Maddon (Chicago), Mike Matheny (St. Louis); Rookie of the year – Kris Bryant (Chicago), Matt Duffy (San Francisco), Jung Ho Kang (Pittsburgh).

American League finalists: MVP – Lorenzo Cain (Kansas City), Josh Donaldson (Toronto), Mike Trout (Angels); Cy Young – Sonny Gray (Oakland), Dallas Keuchel (Houston), David Price (Detroit/Toronto); Manager – Jeff Bannister (Texas), A.J. Hinch (Houston), Paul Molitor (Minnesota); Rookie -- Carlos Correa (Houston), Francisco Lindor (Cleveland), Miguel Sano (Minnesota).